Improving the polysulfide barrier by efficient carbon nanofibers coating on separator/cathode for Li-S batteries

• Published in: Journal of solid state electrochemistry Vol. 24; no. 10; pp. 2341 - 2351
• Main Authors: García-Soriano, Francisco J., Para, M. Laura, Luque, Guillermina L., Barraco, Daniel, Leiva, Ezequiel P. M., Lener, German
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-10-2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analytical Chemistry; Batteries; Carbon fibers; Cathodes; Cathodic coating (process); Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Coating; Condensed Matter Physics; Electric vehicles; Electrochemistry; Energy Storage; Lithium; Lithium sulfur batteries; Nanofibers; Original Paper; Physical Chemistry; Polysulfides; Rechargeable batteries; Separators; Polysulfide shuttling; Carbon nanofibers; Lithium-sulfur batteries; Cathode coating; Energy storage
• ISSN: 1432-8488; 1433-0768
• DOI: 10.1007/s10008-020-04749-1

High-power high-density lithium rechargeable batteries are necessary to meet the energy demand of electric vehicles and high-power stationary grids. Here, we present a straightforward method for obtaining carbon nanofibers (CNFs) as a polysulfide barrier in Li-S cells, resulting in a significant increase in cell performance. CNFs were coated both on the separator and on the cathode. The CNF-coated cathode showed a specific capacity of 1010 mA h g
−1
after 250 cycles at 0.2 C, with a capacity fading of 0.021% per cycle. In addition, at 1 C, it delivered 946 mA h g
−1
, thus presenting a fast Li
+
transport with a good capacity. This result turns CNFs-coated cathodes into a promising system for obtaining high-performance Li-S cells.
Graphical abstract